


A Place I Knew He Wasn't

by ThatDamnKennedyKid



Series: The Monarchy of Gotham [3]
Category: Batman - All Media Types, Young Justice - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, F/M, Genderbending, Getting Together, Leaving Home, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-28
Updated: 2018-07-28
Packaged: 2019-06-15 11:42:02
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,613
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15412143
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ThatDamnKennedyKid/pseuds/ThatDamnKennedyKid
Summary: Who knew red was going to be such an important colour to Roy and Connor by the end of the night.





	A Place I Knew He Wasn't

He landed on the roof, paces away but only out of courtesy. The other man raised his bow, arrow knocked with thoughtless ease. Kinda hot, actually. He pulled off the mask, just in case. 

"See, a real boy."

"What do you want?"

"What do  _I_ want? Messere, you are the one in my city. I should be doing the questioning."

The ginger narrowed his eyes. "Attempting to kill me won't end well for you."

He snorted. "I imagine not. Those thighs alone will stop my heart."

Now, that got his attention. "Did you just- Are you really hitting on me when I've got an arrow in your face?"

"You got a better time to do it?"

"I'm you enemy."

"Only you said that."

Another pause. "I'm not the one killing people."

"Yeah, them explosive arrows are so tranquil. Say, is Wondie's sword made out of Styrofoam like I've heard? With the League's 'non-lethal' policies and all."

He scowled. "You've made your point. What do you want?"

"Nothin'. Just checking to make sure that argument with Green didn't make you wanna jump off a building or something. In the sad way, not the hero wayn that is. Gotham's pretty famous for tall church spires from which to throw yourself in despair."

"You're a regular comedian."

"Only regular? Gotta try harder, then." He tucked the mask into his belt, next to his automatic pistol. 

"Why do you care how I'm doing?"

"It's all well and good to save the world from alien soft drinks and bomb threats and fires, but bad days, life decisions and circumstances threaten more lives than any of those. I stopped two office shootings today alone. One guy was an incel and the other was a homophobe."

"Why are you telling me this?"

"You're the first JLA member to see me and not open fire. That means you have doubts about their narrative and therefore are actually worth talking to. You'll listen and decide for yourself who's right."

"What makes you think that?"

He raised an eyebrow. "I'm a Bat. I can tell when I'm talking to a closed door."

The ginger relaxed, actually going so far as to put the bow and arrow away. "I don't want to be here."

"It's your choice to leave." He let the words sink in. Green Arrow had yelled something about responsibility and loyalty. He needed the ginger to understand that there were no strings on help in the Bat's Gotham. 

He turned back with a heavy sigh, shrugging. "Know any place good for a nightcap?"

He grinned at the ginger. "Follow me."

The other man stayed on the roof for another minute, no doubt looking across the harbour at Star City. He waited, let the fledgling make his choice. 

The ginger appeared out of the alley beside the store, his bright blue eyes on display. "Where to?"

* * *

She continued to glower at everyone, snarling at anyone who was stupid enough to catch her eye. She just kept walking, hands in her pockets. 

"You're not going to make a lot of friends here, wearing that."

She looked up from the sidewalk to meet the blue eyes of a man in a suit, hair stylishly messy and lengthy. He seemed suave and charming - upper echelon, certainly, and she really didn't need to be hit on right now. 

"Yeah. I know." She'd just . . . not exactly had time to change. "Problem?"

"No." He laughed. "It suits you."

She snorted in derision. 

"I can tell you're not from around here."

She glared. "Look, I know you know who I am. You can stop."

"Alright." He offered her a hand, like a human being. "I'm Tim."

She stared for a moment, then took it. She knew he felt her strength. "Connor."

"I gotta wonder, Connor, what pushed you across the Bay? I mean, you know Gotham isn't exactly friendly with the JLA."

"I need to be somewhere I knew he . . . wasn't." She ran a hand through her hair. 

"Wanna take a cruise and talk about it?"

She crossed her arms. "I can crush you and you're hitting on me? Don't you think that's dangerous?"

"Not if I'm a decent human being. You're not going to smash in my face if I'm being courteous and polite instead of a gropey dickhead."

"Well, no."

"Exactly. So, I maintain respect for the fact you're a living being with boundaries and I can walk you around town while you talk."

"You've known me for all of six minutes, Tim."

"And yet, I get the feeling you'll say yes because I'm the first person to acknowledge you have feelings."

She scowled sharply at the ground. That seemed to be what she did instead of crying. 

"You don't have to do anything. Or we can do something else. I just figured a walk would feel less confined. You can fly away any time you want without breaking a roof."

"What JLA secrets to you want in return?"

He laughed. "I don't want anything. It's part of my job to help the people of Gotham. Right now, you're a person in Gotham and I've got a free evening."

"I'm not very good with words." She started, hesitant and more demure than ten seconds ago. Beaten down, like an unwanted dog. 

"Like I said, free evening." He smiled. 

"Lead on then, I guess."

* * *

Three returns for a nightcap later and he found himself slammed against the back wall of the bar, one thigh hitched up and his mouth getting ravaged. 

"Fuck." The raven muttered, licking up the drool from their stupid-intense kiss. "You look so good like this."

He could only flush more, embarrassed, but not ashamed. "Yeah?"

"Oooh yeah. Can I press closer, honey? Will you let me take care of you?"

His eyes rolled up as the other man bit down on his neck, pressing them flush together. The bulge he could feel . . . Oh, it was delicious. Slotted so well against his hip, so attentive to his every sound - he could feel it pulsing, even past their Kevlar. 

"Yeah, yeah Jay. Make me feel it."

Jason smirked against his skin, then all bets were off. 

The Bats were well known for an acrobatic and physical fighting style, Nightwing in particular was rumoured to actually be an acrobat, and it showed in the way Jason moved. Tight circles and heavy grinds from powerful thighs and a strong core. It was all he could do to keep his mouth shut. 

"Mmm, but I liked you vocal."

He recovered enough to bit at Jason's ear. "I'm a little loud for an alley."

"You're playing with fire, pretty boy."

He smirked, fingers catching in Jason's black hair and pulling his head back. "Then what are you playing with?"

Jason smirked anyway, his hand sliding up his held thigh to press against his hole. "Perfection."

"I bet you say that to all the girls."

"I don't say anything I don't mean, Roy."

He let Jason's hair go, observing the man in their rush of lust. He was beautiful and strong, that little tuft of white hair somehow managing to be cute. He had been nothing but sincere from the beginning. 

"Is it too early to tell you that I like you?"

"Not if you're coming back to my place." Jason ground again just to hear the unrestrained whine. "And boy, do I wanna hear more of that."

"If you can handle the ride." He teased. Jason only had a motorcycle - the vibrations would be killer on his hard-on. "I can grind the whole way there, but you gotta keep your balance. Think you can make it?"

"If you come like a shot from the bike, I'm going to make you come three more times, prostate only."

"Don't threaten me with a good time."

Jason grinned, beautiful and dangerous and so, so enthralling. Oliver would be mortified to see him like this, though Dinah might find it funny. 

If this was going the way Jason hinted it might, he would miss her something terrible. Dinah had always been a rock for him, especially when Oliver was an asshole. He would miss her a lot. 

"Let's go then, Red." Jason lifted him up and walked back behind the bar to where his bike was. 

"How can you do this what an erection?"

"What can I say?" Jason smacked his ass. "I'm inspired."

* * *

"Aren't you uncomfortable in that suit?"

He smiled across the table. "Not at all. I pretty much grew up in suits."

Connor shuffled, not knowing what to do with herself as they waited for their food. "Is this kind of thing normal for you?"

"Somewhat." He sat back, observing the Kelsey's they were in. "You seem a little flustered."

"I'm Superman's clone." She hissed lowly. "I'm not exactly beloved or anything."

"How old are you, anyway?"

"Six." Her eye blew wide and she stumbled over herself. "Twenty-two."

"Actually six, functionally twenty-two." He smiled.

"You're a little too calm about this." She frowned. 

"You're not the only one with a weird past."

"So you were vat-grown too?" She retorted, her raised eyebrow dripping sarcasm. 

"My parents died and I was adopted by a billionaire and his wife? I fight crime in spandex and Kevlar?"

She narrowed her eyes at him. "You're one of the Bats."

"Yeah, Supergirl. Red Robin."

She frowned. "Why just admit that? Won't you be looking to try and dig up information?"

He snorted. "What more is there to know? You're Supergirl, the JLA likes to pretend you don't exist and Superman does everything he can not to talk to you."

She sighed, running a hand through her hair. "No need to paint it so bluntly."

He reached across and took her hand. "Connor, I don't want anything from you. I wasn't lying when we met. I protect Gotham."

"I know." She said softly. "Everything is so nice here. I know what it used to be like - Cadmus gave me the memories. I- The League likes to think that it has a policy against death. They don't. It's hypocritical of them to say that when Diana kills people all the time, Superman's killed people. I understand what you guys do isn't exactly ethical, but you can't argue with results."

"I know life is hard for you in Metropolis. I also understand if you reject this, but I'm more than willing to offer you a place to live here. In Gotham."

She hesitated, as he knew she would. "I'll have to think about it."

"I know it has some drastic consequences for you. I'm just putting the offer out there, that you have a place to be when you can't be anywhere else."

"Thanks." Her smile was baleful. "I'll keep it in mind."

The waitress reappeared with their food and their conversation fell to easier topics. 

* * *

"You don't know him, Roy. He's playing you!"

"Oh, and I suppose you do?" He snapped back. "What colour are his eyes?"

"Uh-"

"Exactly. You don't know shit about him, or the Bats, for that matter."

Oliver's eyes narrowed. "We know all we need to know about the Bats and their operations."

"No! That's not how this works! You need to know everything, especially when the citizens of the city they're 'terrorizing' seem more than affable to their presence."

"It's not abnormal for the citizens of Gotham not to want to disclose their true feelings to us."

"Or is that you projecting what you want them to be like because they don't fit your narrative? Dammit, Oliver, you know better than this."

The older man fell silent. 

"I'm going back to Gotham. And I- I'm not coming back."

"You've been with him for barely six months."

"You won't change my mind. If the League is willing to wallpaper over the Bats because Batman won't submit to them, then this is not a place I want to be. This isn't heroism and safety for the world, this is politics and power. At least I know what I'm doing in Gotham."

"Roy . . . "

"Say goodbye to Dinah for me." He slung the bag over his shoulder. 

"Roy, please, reconsider what you're about to do."

"I've thought about it since I first met him. The consequences and implications. It didn't change my mind."

"Don't leave us like this."

"I won't rejoin the League as it is, but that doesn't mean our friendship has to end. But just remember this conversation when the League insists you have to pick a side."

* * *

"You can't go to Gotham anymore."

She looked up from where she was working on Sphere. "Excuse me?"

Clark stared her down, full costume. "You are not permitted to enter Gotham anymore."

"Since the fuck when am I  _permitted_ to do things?"

"Since right now. We know you've been in contact with the Red Robin, and he's known to be a dangerous manipulator."

"As opposed to you, who neglects everyone in your life."

He blinked, shocked. "What?"

"When was the last time you had a date with Lois? When was the last time, before this one, you spoke to me for any reason other than a reprimand?" She snorted derisively. "It's been almost a year."

He looked contrite for a moment, before his face hardened. "Do you understand what it means to choose him over us?"

"Yeah, I do."

"If you leave, never return."

She stood, turning to snarl directly into his face. "Done. Easy."

"I'll give you one chance to reconsider your choice."

"Why? I'll actually get a fucking family. Go fuck yourself and your ultimatums, Clark. You might be Superman, but I don't need you for a goddamn thing."

* * *

 

Roy and Connor sat opposite each other in the kitchen, calm in the silence of the morning. 

"Do you ever think things will be okay?" He asked.

"Like the League getting it's head out of it's ass?" She returned. 

"Yeah."

"Nah. Clark's an asshole."

"He's not all terrible." He winced. "He was just determined to show you his worst qualities."

She snorted. "Isn't that the truth. He's practically in a love affair with Luther, but I'm the issue."

He coughed to hide his chuckle. "I completely agree with you."

"Do you ever want to go back?"

He frowned at the table. "I miss Ollie and Dinah. I miss them a lot. Otherwise? My job is the same here and I've got all the family I could ever ask for. Do you miss it?"

"Nah." She sat back in her chair. "Not at all. Nothing worth missing, frankly."

He nodded. "I guess the hero life isn't all it's cracked up to be."

Her TTK wrapped around him comfortingly, like one of Jay's biggest hugs. She was so warm and safe. 

"Not at all, my friend. Not as a sidekick, anyway."

Jason knocked on the kitchen doorframe. "Hey. Tim and I are going patrolling tonight so Dick and Bruce can have some alone time. Wanna make it the Three Reds and a Supergirl?"

"You game?" He asked. 

Her TTK pulsed softly with affection. "Yeah. I'll carry you tonight, just so we can watch the other two run."

He grinned. "Deal."

"Hey, no fair!" Jason whined. "I never get carried!"

"You wiggle." She retorted. 

"Tim's not gonna like you carrying another man around."

"Oh yes, because Red Arrow isn't the gayest man in the house."

"Throw it in my face, then." He mock-pouted.

"Mmm."

"I'm telling!" Jason yelled, then sprinted down the hall to find Tim. 

Roy and Connor rolled their eyes. 

"Changed your mind yet?" He asked, standing from the table to go prepare his quiver. 

She smirked and lent back further in her chair. She was already wearing her costume, the asshole. "Nah. I'm good right here." 


End file.
